Cannibalism. Suicide. Polygamy. Drug use.
What do these things have in common? They all inspire negative feelings in most people.
The feelings can range anywhere from dry disapproval to bone-chilling revulsion.
Well, consider these:
Hugging. Laying out for a suntan. Tattoos. Schooling.
This set is made up of things that are not unusual to us at all. They may remind us of someone we know, or perhaps just everyday things that mean nothing. But what may seem mundane to some is strictly taboo to others. For example, in some circles, independent of race or age, touching is a vulgar thing. So, naturally, hugs are frowned upon in that pocket of individuals, while most may think of it as no big issue. The viewpoints on nearly anything you care to name are widely different, even among those who are alike for the most part.
Why does the mind think the way it does? What inspires these images that carry a positive or a negative connotation? What guides the pathways that our thoughts take while in our own minds? Many things, one could say. Religion, location on Earth, generation, or maybe gender. But it is easily summed up in a single word: conditioning.
Brainwashing, some might say, and that very well may be true, in one way or another.
Brainwashing is defined thusly: "To cause a change in attitudes or beliefs through the systematic application of intense, psychologically distressing factors."
Sounds pretty bad to most of us, doesn't it? Who would want to undergo a systematic mind assault? Nobody sane at least, and that seems to be undeniable truth to most of us.
But consider it in another way, and things are different.
Like the Manson Family Cult, for an example. Charles Manson did not coerce any "family member" into doing anything, but rather conditioned them to think his way. He simply held total, hypnotic sway over the environment and circumstances of the members.
With the versatile speaking ability that is distinctly reminiscent to that of Hitler, combined with charisma and intelligence, Manson would have been able to draw people in naturally. (Manson can, to this day, talk circles around any reporter.) It would have been no difficult task for this verbal and mental Houdini to pour his own views into his rapt listeners, twisting the facts to resemble what he wished them to be and offering them as undeniable truth. In time, when all the "facts" had been "proven" to the members, no one would think to believe otherwise.
Rather than a repeated mental crush, his brand of "brainwashing" seems like painless, willing, but distortedly influenced, conversion to another theory of the truth. Religion is much the same, in smaller and less nefarious ways. If your beliefs, whatever they may be, are what you base your life on, why would you choose to live in a way something completely contrary?
And why would something contrary repel you? Would it be on account of your definitions of right and wrong, with the contrary notion falling squarely into the "wrong" section, or at least into an uncomfortable gray area that is not part of who you are?
Yes, in most cases, you would find that it is exactly that. We have decided what is bad because we have decided what we believe to be good, and vice-versa. Therefore it is only natural to be repelled by something we view to be bad or contrary to our nature.
All of the important information about an individual is contained in the thought process, in the way a person thinks and reacts. But what is most important is why they think that way: how their views were formed, and under what influences. It's all in the conditioning.
Conditioning is defined in here as the influencing of how a person thinks, (and therefore how they feel and how they act most times) whether it be about a single issue or life in general. The causes of conditioning can be divided into three catagories: those due to People, those due to Circumstance, and those due to Genetics.
All conditioning falls into one of these divisions, sometimes more than one. Some can be avoided or altered, while there are others that are impossible to change. The conditioning we go through starts when we are born, and ends only when we die. Each of them are explained in simple definitions and examples, in the following pages.
(Note: Our life cannot be controlled by ourselves in every way, and that is universal truth. There will always be variables, for good or bad, which even the most organized cannot forsee. Therefore, when reading the normal causes and effects of the following influences, bear in mind that there are always exceptions to the rule. Many of those exceptions will be highlighted, but it is impossible to list them all. There is no "always" in life when speaking of how and why people behave the way they do. This is why the words most, and usually are emphasized in the sections to come.)
Conditioning Due to the Impact of People
People are simply that. People. They are everywhere, unless one is a hermit. In ways both big and small, good and bad, we influence each other. A major part of conditioning due to people is upbringing, by parents or guardians. While it is similar and even complementary to Genetics, they are not to be confused.
Personal conditioning is the impact of others upon us. Those who raise us also shape us in a basic way, whether by example or teaching directly. When a child is taught something new, they will not usually question whether or not it is true. Children are just not that cynical. However, some children are indirectly taught to never trust what a person says, because of the actions of someone around them, who probably either lied frequently, broke promises repeatedly, or a hundred other examples. But a child in a secure home without such callous people will usually be naturally trusting, and receptive to ideas taught or shown to them. It is, for the most part, unavoidable.
By far, the largest factor in our lives is society. Society, though it is not a particularly personal force, is made up of individual people nonetheless. The rules of society will often lay a groundwork for the reflexive reactions we have to various things in life, unless we are taught something specifically different. Society's views may be shifted through the force of the individual people within it, but it is never an easy or quick task.
To a lesser, but vital, degree, daily interaction with other people (beyond those in our gene pool) will affect us. If we are met with continual scorn and disapproval of those around us we are inadvertantly taught to expect nothing else out of anyone, even ourselves. The same is true of the opposite. If the people around us are kind and supportive, then we feel that we are right. After all, nobody has nay-sayed, and therefore we are affirmed in that way.
When we are older, we may choose, for the most part, who we interact with. Naturally, we will be drawn to others of the same cloth, so to speak, as our friends and spouses. But unavoidable contact with those we find abrasive to ourselves and our sensibilites is always a factor in life. School, work, or just chance meetings (termed here as "chance contact") in various places are example of such.
(Note: The following descriptions for positive and negative effects are independent of specific viewpoints. A negative impact is defined here as any effect which causes something that hinders us in life, or harms us in any way, while a positive impact is defined as any effect which causes something that betters us in any way, or promotes our well-being.)
While most chance contact is minor, (unless repeatedly encountered, in which case the impact is much greater) some of them may have major, long-lasting effects upon us as people. Rape is an example of this, and a powerful one at that. Rape can affect the very physical being of someone, along with the incalculable mental damage. But there will always be mindless catastrophy inflicted at random by the disturbed, or the just plain careless.
On the other hand, changes in us can be wrought in positive ways through chance contact. Generally, we all have at least one example of someone who has touched our lives for a temporary, sometimes only momentary, time. Just as was true with the negative side, positive chance contact usually has a small effect upon us, unless it is an unusually profound action upon ourselves by another person. Mentoring, friendships, and even the impact of the acquiantence of a stranger is a good example of an individual's ability to alter someone's life in a positive way by even the briefest of contact. Just as we cannot control those loose variables who would harm us, we cannot predict when or how or even if someone will positively effect us.
Conditioning Due to the Impact of Circumstances
Circumstances are even more unavoidable than people, unless one is dead. They are the conditions in which we live throughout our entire life. They may be either temporary or permanent. Circumstances should not be confused with the effect that people have upon us; though the two are undeniably similar, there are distinct factors that seperate them.
Circumstantial conditioning is the impact that the happenings of our life have on us. For the most part, we ourselves cause circumstances to occur through our actions, and this is partially why circumstance cannot also be catagorized as Personal conditioning. Personal conditioning comes from others; Circumstantial conditioning comes partly from ourselves.
The effect that our actions cause may be either positive or negative, and are more commonly known as consequences. They may go on to affect other people as well, but the altering in our own lives is much more noticeable, because an individual knows only what s/he is thinking, though we may not know why exactly. A change in our psyche will be recognized most often than a change in another's. (Though not always, if the effect is a prominent and immediate.)
Our actions may affect us by bringing about reprimand of the law, health problems, monetary complications, even death. On the other hand, they may also bring us rewarding opportunities, gainful employment, and a thriving existence. The consequences differ vastly, depending on what we have done to cause them, who it affected directly, when, where, and sometimes why. Those consequences make up the bigger part of circumstances in our lives.
They are as different as each experience in life is different, and will continue affect us in numerous ways as we continue to move through life. As it is with every other force, the effects upon us can be either positive or negative.
If we truly consider a particular decision to be a mistake, and its consequence to be negative, then we will undoubtedly alter how we behave, in order to avoid it in the future. But repetitive action will bring the same reaction, if we are not concerned or affected by it.
The second part of circumstantial conditioning is the impact of non-human forces beyond our control. Weather, famine, drought and all manners of disaster in our enviroments fall into this catagory, and most often change the way that we view the state of the world. For example, those affected by famine will place a higher value on food. In extreme cases, alteration from impersonal forces will cause shock, and sometimes even mental problems, such as phobias.
Other, less clear-cut examples may include any "supernatural" occurences that leave us changed. The existence of the supernatural is strenuously debated. But it does not matter what science says, when it comes to core beliefs. If someone is convinced that they were abducted by aliens, there is little chance of persuading them otherwise. That conviction may come from Personal conditioning, from being taught or shown a certain theory or truth, or from the inexplicable occurences that happen to few people in their lifetime. Either way, the unknown can have a powerful effect on a person, for reasons beyond human comprehension (though not beyond human speculation).
No one can control circumstance such as these, which is why they have the greatest affect upon a person's life. Sometimes the sheer, impersonal force is overwhelming. That sort of impact can leave a person changed, sometimes permanently.
Conditioning Due to the Impact of Genetics
Genetics is a touchy subject, on account of the conflict between the theories of predestined behavior and free will. But when it is discussed here, it is considered a truly unchangeable force. No one can choose their relatives, as the saying goes, and it grasps true. An individual cannot control which genes they inherit, though it may be possible one day to choose which ones our children recieve from us.
Genetic conditioning is the impact that our bodies have on us. The traits and chromosomes we inherit do not mean we are programmed for something. It does, however, mean we are predisposed for it. And that something can be anything from heart disease to homosexuality, to a handicap.
For example, if someone is born with a different body than what is considered normal (such as a blind man, or a dwarf) but the effect is not completely debilitating, then they usually develop into individuals with a strong sense of self-reliance, and take pride in being able to handle themselves without help.
Another example is if we were to know that we are predisposed towards a certain disease, then it would naturally influence how we lived and took care of our bodies. But if we did not know, or did not care (which will have its own reasoning behind it) then we would continue on to live how we felt was best, and then most likely contract that particular disease, in ignorance of its prevention.
A more complicated aspect of genetic conditioning is the unimaginably expanisve area of mental health. A person will follow any path they choose, but sometimes the path is not exactly what it seems. Those with depression may attempt suicide, while those with severe psychosis may go on a killing spree. The effect depends on the person's specific problem.
The causes, effects and issues surrounding and involving mental health problems are multiple and complex. Some may be adjusted by medication and professional help, but others, the most extreme of cases, can never be resolved.
The Possibilities of Change
All of these factors come together in one place, to show their influence, and that place is in us. We are the central point in which all of the "lines" we have encountered fit to single point, in our single, unique selves. If we are aware of exactly how life has shaped us, then we may learn one of life's best kept secrets, something many of us wil never realize.
If we come across an individual whose life or character conflicts with our own, we are naturally repelled. What we do not realize is this: if our own lives had been a little different, if something had been changed, maybe even something as small as our name, it is not impossible for for things to have turned out radically different. In fact, there is a chance that person might have been us.
And while we as people usually know who we are, and are comfortable with remaining like that, (unless something makes it completely impossible for us) we can change, even despite conditioning. Human will is the strongest force on earth.
But the fact remains that if our conditioning had been different, we could be anyone. Life has shaped us with its whims, yes, and we have become a unique individuals through that, but: people are not aberrations in themselves. Mankind, in its deepst levels of thought and feeling, behaves according to the same instincts. If we took away all of the conflicting factors that have made us, then it would be plain to see it: we are the same people, just in different places.
An interesting theory on how and why personality is developed in humans, as well my personal essay on the psychology of the human race.
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